Baguio named to UNESCO Creative Cities Network

Frank Cimatu

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Baguio named to UNESCO Creative Cities Network
Baguio, cited for crafts and folk art, is the first Philippine city to join the exclusive club

BAGUIO, Philippines – Baguio joins Seattle and Kansas City in the US, Mexico City, Chiang Mai in Thailand, Yamagata in Japan, and Istanbul in Turkey among the new batch of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Creative Cities Network.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova announced on October 31 that 64 new cities from 44 countries were included in the network. Since 2004, the network has highlighted its members’ creativity within 7 fields: crafts and folk art, design, film, gastronomy, literature, media arts and music. The 64 new member cities join 116 previous other cities from 72 countries.

Baguio City, which was cited for crafts and folk art, is the first city in the Philippines to join the exclusive club. Three other cities tried to vie for the inclusion to the Creative Cities Network this year.

Chiang Mai, which was also chosen for crafts and folk art, is the only ASEAN city to join Baguio this year. The other ASEAN cities already in the network are Phuket in Thailand for gastronomy, Singapore for design, and Pakalongan and Badung in Indonesia, both for crafts and folk art.

“These new designations showcase an enhanced diversity in city profiles and geographical balance, with 19 cities from countries not previously represented in the Network,” Bokova said.

Cordillera Tourism Director Maria Venus Tan, who was instrumental in Baguio’s campaign, wrote on Facebook, “I woke up today with the happiest news that Bagio has been declared as one of the new UNESCO Creative Cities in its network!”

Baguio, the gateway to the Cordilleras, was created as a hill station by the Americans more than a hundred years ago. The famous architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham set up the blueprint for the city, which was declared as the Summer Capital of the Philippines in 1909.

Since then, it has become the country’s premier city for tourists. In 1988, artists Bencab (Benedicto Reyes Cabrera), Santiago Bose, Tommy Hafalla, Roberto Villanueva, Kidlat Tahimik, David Baradas, Willie Magtibay, and Luisa Igloria founded the Baguio Arts Guild, which established Baguio City among the art hotspots in Asia.

The 64 new members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network are:

  • Alba (Italy) – Gastronomy
  • Almaty (Kazakhstan) – Music
  • Amarante (Portugal) – Music
  • Auckland (New Zealand) – Music
  • Baguio City (Philippines) – Crafts and Folk Art
  • Barcelos (Portugal) – Crafts and Folk Art
  • Braga (Portugal) – Media Arts
  • Brasilia (Brazil) – Design
  • Bristol (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) – Film
  • Brno (Czechia) – Music
  • Bucheon (Republic of Korea) – Literature
  • Buenaventura (Colombia) – Gastronomy
  • Cairo (Egypt) – Crafts and Folk Art
  • Cape Town (South Africa) – Design
  • Carrara (Italy) – Crafts and Folk Art
  • Changsha (China) – Media Arts
  • Chennai (India) – Music
  • Chiang Mai (Thailand) – Crafts and Folk Art
  • Chordeleg (Ecuador) – Crafts and Folk Art
  • Cochabamba (Bolivia [Plurinational State of]) – Gastronomy
  • Daegu Metropolitan City (Republic of Korea) – Music
  • Dubai (United Arab Emirates) – Design
  • Durban (South Africa) – Literature
  • Frutillar (Chile) – Music
  • Gabrovo (Bulgaria) – Crafts and Folk Art
  • [City of] Greater Geelong (Australia) – Design
  • Guadalajara (Mexico) – Media Arts
  • Hatay Metropolitan Municipality (Turkey) – Gastronomy
  • Istanbul (Turkey) – Design
  • João Pessoa (Brazil) – Crafts and Folk Art
  • Kansas City (United States of America) – Music
  • Kolding (Denmark) – Design
  • Kortrijk (Belgium) – Design
  • Košice (Slovakia) – Media Arts
  • Kütahya (Turkey) – Crafts and Folk Art
  • Lillehammer (Norway) – Literature
  • Limoges (France) – Crafts and Folk Art
  • Łódź (Poland) – Film
  • Macao Special Administrative Region, China (Associate Member, UNESCO) – Gastronomy
  • Madaba (Jordan) – Crafts and Folk Art
  • Manchester (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) – Literature
  • Mexico City (Mexico) – Design
  • Milan (Italy) – Literature
  • Morelia (Mexico) – Music
  • Norrköping (Sweden) – Music
  • Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) – Crafts and Folk Art
  • Panama City (Panama) – Gastronomy
  • Paraty (Brazil) – Gastronomy
  • Pesaro (Italy) – Music
  • Porto-Novo (Benin) – Crafts and Folk Art
  • Praia (Cabo Verde) – Music
  • Qingdao (China) – Film
  • Québec City (Canada) – Literature
  • San Antonio (United States of America) – Gastronomy
  • Seattle (United States of America) – Literature
  • Sheki (Azerbaijan) – Crafts and Folk Art
  • Sokodé (Togo) – Crafts and Folk Art
  • Terrassa (Spain) – Film
  • Tétouan (Morocco) – Crafts and Folk Art
  • Toronto (Canada) – Media Arts
  • Tunis (Tunisia) – Crafts and Folk Art
  • Utrecht (Netherlands) – Literature
  • Wuhan (China) – Design
  • Yamagata City (Japan) – Film

– Rappler.com

 
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